or


[01/16/21 - 08:52 AM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC, FOX Share Demo Crown; CBS Leads Total Viewers
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

Primetime Preliminary Fast National Nielsen Data
(includes all DVR playback through 3:00 am)

Here are the highlights of the 10 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (1/15/21):

[Note: Fast affiliate ratings are inaccurate for live sports.]

ABC (4.100 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T1) and FOX (2.153 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T1) shared the demo crown on Friday as the latter offered up a fresh installment of "WWE SmackDown" (2.153 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2).

The Alphabet then served up its duo of "Shark Tank" (4.212 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1) and "20/20" (4.044 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2).

Next up was CBS (4.855 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #3) with new episodes of "MacGyver" (4.844 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4) and "Magnum P.I." (5.291 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4) plus a repeat "Blue Bloods" (4.429 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #6).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.066 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) offered up its coverage of the "U.S. Figure Skating Championship" (2.066 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #7).

And finally, The CW (0.785 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) rounded out the night with its mix of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.886 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T8), a repeat "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.742 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T8) and "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" (0.757 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T8).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+100.00% - Whose Line Is It Anyway?
+100.00% - Penn & Teller: Fool Us
+20.00% - WWE SmackDown
0.00% - 20/20
0.00% - MacGyver
-12.50% - Shark Tank
-16.67% - Magnum P.I.

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+100.00% - Penn & Teller: Fool Us (vs. Dynasty)
+55.56% - Shark Tank (vs. American Housewife/Fresh Off the Boat)
+20.00% - 20/20
0.00% - Whose Line Is It Anyway? (vs. Charmed)
-16.67% - MacGyver (vs. Hawaii Five-0 (Repeat))
-16.67% - Magnum P.I. (vs. Magnum P.I. (Repeat))
-25.00% - WWE SmackDown


Here are the highlights of the 11 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/17/20):

FOX (2.580 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #1) remained the demo champ on Friday with its telecast of "WWE SmackDown" (2.580 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.8, #1).

CBS (5.420 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) was the most-watched network despite its all-repeat lineup of "Hawaii Five-0" (5.487 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2), "Magnum P.I." (5.177 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2) and "Blue Bloods" (5.597 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4).

Next up was NBC (3.776 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) with week two of "Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector" (3.783 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T8) and "Dateline NBC" (3.772 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4).

Meanwhile, ABC (3.106 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) served up the return of "American Housewife" (3.430 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4) and "Fresh Off the Boat" (2.408 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T8) plus a new "20/20" (3.200 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4).

And finally, The CW (0.512 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) closed the evening with the winter premieres of "Charmed" (0.676 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.2, #10) and "Dynasty" (0.349 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.1, #11).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - WWE SmackDown
0.00% - Fresh Off the Boat (vs. 12/13/19)
0.00% - Charmed (vs. 12/6/19)
0.00% - Dynasty (vs. 12/6/19)
-16.67% - American Housewife (vs. 12/13/19)
-16.67% - 20/20
-28.57% - Dateline NBC
-33.33% - Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+14.29% - WWE SmackDown (vs. Various)
0.00% - Charmed (vs. Dynasty)
-16.67% - Dateline NBC (vs. The Blacklist/Dateline NBC)
-28.57% - American Housewife (vs. Fresh Off the Boat)
-28.57% - 20/20
-33.33% - Fresh Off the Boat (vs. Speechless)
-33.33% - Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector (vs. Blindspot)
-50.00% - Dynasty (vs. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend)

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [january 2026]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[01/16/26 - 01:08 PM]
"20/20" Is the Most-Watched Program Across Broadcast and Cable on Friday Night - Scoring Largest Viewership in Over 7 Months
For the second week in a row, "20/20" posted Total Viewers increases versus the previous week and the corresponding year-ago telecast.

[01/15/26 - 01:38 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Christmas Week Shoots to a Season High Among Total Viewers - Scoring Show's Best Performance in 10 Months
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 152 consecutive weeks across all key measures.

[01/13/26 - 03:02 PM]
2025-26 College Football Playoff Semifinals Averaging 14.9 Million Viewers, On Par with 2024-25 Season
The Peach Bowl (Oregon vs. Indiana) drew 18 million viewers on average, while the Fiesta Bowl (Miami vs. Ole Miss) scored 15.8 million viewers.

[01/13/26 - 02:30 PM]
FOX Sports Holds Winning Hand Leading All Networks in Viewership on Wild Card Weekend
41 million viewers watched FOX Sports' presentation of Sunday's NFC Wild Card Round showdown featuring the San Francisco 49ers' win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

[01/13/26 - 02:26 PM]
31.61 Million Viewers for Packers-Bears Playoff on Prime Video Shatters NFL Streaming Record
According to Amazon first-party viewership data, Packers-Bears attracted the most concurrent viewers and highest single-day global viewership in the history of Prime Video.

[01/13/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of January 5 - "People We Meet on Vacation" Takes a Trip to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
In addition to a will they, won't they romance, viewers were sucked into the he said, she said intrigue of "His & Hers," putting the thriller series at No. 1 on the English TV list with 19.9 million views.

[01/12/26 - 10:30 AM]
ESPN Studio Shows' Deliver Records, Multiyear Highs in 2025
ESPN's daily sports studio shows enjoyed remarkable viewership success in 2025, with "Get Up," "First Take" and "The Pat McAfee Show" delivering their most-watched years ever and "SportsCenter" (6 p.m. ET) delivering its most watched year in a decade.

[01/12/26 - 10:01 AM]
WWE by the Numbers: Celebrating One Year on Netflix
In 2025, Netflix members watched 525M hours of WWE content.

[01/09/26 - 08:47 AM]
ESPN's Second Most-Watched NBA Regular Season Ever
Through 21 games, the NBA on ESPN networks is averaging 2.6M viewers, up 35 percent from last season.

[01/08/26 - 02:00 PM]
ESPN Networks Deliver Record-Breaking Viewership for 2025-26 FCS Playoffs and Championship
The 2026 FCS Championship Game averaged 2.3 million viewers on ESPN, ranking as the third-best FCS Championship audience ever.

[01/08/26 - 01:17 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in All Key Demos
In fact, "Nightline" is ranking No. 1 in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 for the 3rd straight year.

[01/08/26 - 01:16 PM]
ABC News' Primetime Special "The Year: 2025" Earns Nearly 4 Million Total Viewers - Growing by Double Digits Over Last Year in Multiplatform Viewing
The 15th annual year-end special earned 3.857 million Total Viewers, growing impressively over last year's performance by +37% (vs. 2.818 million), after three days of viewing on ABC, Disney+, Hulu and digital platforms.

[01/07/26 - 12:32 PM]
Bowl Season on ESPN Networks Delivers Strongest Audience Since 2015-16
ABC delivered its largest non CFP bowl audience in 12 years, averaging 6.2 million viewers across six games.

[01/07/26 - 09:29 AM]
In 2025, Fans Power ESPN and "ESPN on ABC" to Its Most-Watched Year in Over a Decade
ESPN networks increased industry-leading sports share to 35 percent, up from 31 percent in 2024.

[01/06/26 - 03:18 PM]
FOX NFL Rings in Best Regular Season Since 2015
The regular season averaged 19.633 million viewers for the network.